Star Light Star Bright
by CloudEpic
Summary: In which Merlin stargazes, and Arthur's grasp of astronomy is... questionable.


_A/N We do not own the characters of Merlin, BBC._

A cold breeze blew past the tower, causing Merlin to shiver. He didn't mind; it was nice to get away from the chaos of the castle. He tried to escape here as often as he could, but lately dealing with the threat of Morgana on top of all his duties to Arthur and Gaius made it hard to find time for himself. Plus there was the fact that he had to hide his magic from everyone in the kingdom. Sometimes, Merlin wondered how he had managed to keep his secret for so long; Arthur must be very daft to not notice all the coincidences that happened around him. Very daft indeed.

Daft… and yet, Merlin could not help the silly smile that always threatened to break free whenever he thought about Arthur with his _daft_ head and _prat-like_ face and _idiotic_ blue eyes, _so_ annoying and his moronic blond hair that always looked ever so slightly tousled and always made Merlin want to run his hands through it just to see if it was as soft as it looked-

A rustling sound caused Merlin to wake from his fantasy and turn to look at the doorway. Arthur was casually leaning against the frame.

"I'd wondered where you'd gotten off to," Arthur said.

"Why, were you _worried_ about me?" Merlin asked, mockingly.

"No!" Arthur exclaimed a little too quickly. "I just need you to clean my armor for tomorrow. Oh, and polish my shoes while you're at it."

Merlin just rolled his eyes and turned back to staring at the stars.

"Alright, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Arthur simply raised his eyebrow at Merlin, giving him a 'I don't believe a word that's coming out of your mouth' look.

Merlin sighed. "It's kind of stupid."

Arthur smirked as he sat down next to Merlin. "Don't worry, I took that as a given."

Merlin tried to scowl, but the effect was slightly ruined by the grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. " _Why_ do I talk to you?"

"Because of my dazzlingly good looks and frankly fantastic wit?"

Merlin laughed, and Arthur was suddenly distracted by just how infectious Merlin's laughter was. Arthur wanted to hear that laugh forever. Arthur wanted to make him laugh like that forever. Arthur wanted to-

"-you okay?"

Arthur blinked, realizing he'd spaced out while staring at Merlin. Who was now staring at _him,_ a concerned look on his face. _Quick, say something,_ he thought, panicked.

"Yes, yes," Arthur said brusquely. "Are you going to tell me what the matter is?"

Merlin's smile faded a little. "Do you ever think about… destiny?"

"Destiny? Like, fate and prophecies? You know I don't believe in that stuff, Merlin."

"Well, what about… do you ever think about what people might think of you after you're gone? Like what will you be remembered for?"

Arthur shrugged. "Sometimes, maybe… but it's not like it'll matter, right? …why? is that's what's bothering you? What people think about you?"

"Kind of, it's just…"

Merlin trailed off, mistaking the look on Arthur's face. "I told you it was stupid!"

Arthur didn't respond immediately. He was deep in thought. It surprised him that Merlin has such similar insecurities to his own. Of course, he'd never admit that out loud.

"I don't think it's stupid."

"What?" Merlin said, looking up hopefully.

"It's not stupid. But… it _is_ easy to solve." Arthur glanced up at the sky and pointed. "There. That's you."

Merlin's face went from hopeful to confused. "Are you… what?"

"See that star in the sky, right there? The bright one? I hereby decree that from now forth it shall be called 'Merlin'".

Arthur looked back at Merlin, pleased with himself. He waited for Merlin to look up at him with wide eyes, saying "Arthur, that's so sweet!" - and then maybe lean in a bit closer, and -

Merlin burst into laughter.

"What is so funny?!" said an outraged Arthur.

Merlin immediately stopped laughing, but Arthur could tell he was stifling chuckles.

"Nothing! I'm sorry, it's not funny at all, that was a really nice gesture, it's just-" Merlin dissolved into giggles.

Arthur scowled. " _What?"_

"Arthur… that's a planet."

"What? No it's not. It's shining. It's in the sky. It's a star."

"No, it's a planet. See how bright it is? And it's not twinkling at all. It's a planet. Venus to be exact."

"Well…" Arthur blustered. "I knew that! I didn't mean that one! It's the one to the left!"

Merlin grinned. "Did you now?"

Arthur glared at him. "And… and you know something else! I don't have to explain anything to you! I'm your King, you should show some respect-"

So of course, Merlin burst into laughter again.

And what happened next wasn't Arthur's _fault_ exactly _-_ but, Merlin's laughter was so infectious, and the moonlight was dappled along his hair just so, and so it couldn't be helped that Arthur did exactly the thing he'd wanted to do all along.

"I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you! I-mmpf!"

Merlin stared wide-eyed at a bright red Arthur, who had just - if he hadn't just imagined the whole thing - _kissed_ him?

Merlin's brain went into overdrive, and then grinded to a complete halt as he continued to stare at Arthur in complete shock.

Arthur stared back - and then before Merlin could even blink, bolted off without a word.

Merlin stared after him for a minute or so. Then, he turned back to look up at the stars. If anyone had been there to see, they might have noticed the slight, almost unnoticeable smile playing at the corner of his lips.

Venus was awfully bright tonight.

fin.


End file.
